Connecter



Nov. 7, 1933. T. F. JOHNSON CONNBCTER Filed June 26, 1928 U ill? yixllINVENTOR TEE/0 son,

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ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 7, 1933 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONNEOTERTomlinson Fort Johnsom Atlanta, Ga.

Application June 26, 1928. Serial No. 288,518 4 Claims. (o1. ire-4.73)

This invention relates to connecters or line tapping devices and aims,among other objects, to provide an improved clamp and manipulating meanstherefor to insure that ti e connecter may 5 be positively controlled bythe operator while it is being connected to or disconnected from a liveconductor.

In the accompany Fig. l is a side el ment of the invention; 7

2 is a side elevation taken at right angles to Fig. 1;

3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a top plan view of the connector shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring particularly to the drawing and to that form of nvention shownfor illustrative purposes th there is provided a bracket member 16having a socket 11 for the usual branch conductor 12 leading toapparatus to be tapped under-face of the bracket has a shallow groove 13adapted to receive a conductor i l to a good electrical contact. Theupper face of the bracket 10 preferably has a reinforcing boss and a rib15 extending from the socket member 11. Also, the lower face of thebracket is preferably machined and presents a downwardly extending lipor flange 16 to prevent the bracket from slipping off a conductor afterit hooked on.

Herein, the bracket has a screw threaded opening to receive a screw 17carrying a clamping member 18, conveniently in the form of a machineddisk, cooperating with the under-face of the bracket l9 to clamp theconductor 14 in the shallow groove. The conductor, when it lies in thegroove, prevents the bracket from rotating while the clamping member isbeing turned.

To connect and disconnect the clamp from the conductor, and to enablethe operator to manipulate the bracket from a distance, the screw 17 isshown as extending through the clamping disk 18 to present a shank 19having a groove 20 so that it may be engaged by a socket member 21 on aninsulating handle or manipulating rod 22. In the present example, thedisk 1S-has an integral nut or non-circular head 23, the whole beingpreferably cast on the screw shank and the socket member 21 presents asocket wrench 24 to engage the nut.

The arrangement is such that the operating member may be snapped on theshank 19 of the screw with the wrench engaging the nut, the strength ofthe snap fastener element being g drawing,

showing one embodi- V such as to prevent the socket member from slippingoff due to a slig t pull on the manipulating rod or ,E'ei'ein, the snapfastener element cooperating with the groove 20 is shown as comprising aplunger pin 25 extending through a hole in'the side of the socket memberand having a rounded end cooperating with the groove 26. The outer endofthe pin is shown as having a head 26 with which the upper end of aleaf spring 27 fastened to the lower end of the socket member engages.As will be seen in Fig. 3, the groove 20 and the end of the shank belowthe groove, are so shaped that thesocket member may be engaged with anddisengaged from the groove by a push or a pull.

When the connecter is clamped tightly on a conductor, it is sometimesrather difficult to unscrew the clamping disk. To enable the bracketmember to be held against rotation while the clamping member is beingoperated, the bracket is shown as having an ordinary hookeye 28 adaptedto receive a switch-hook or the hooked end of an ordinary hook sticksuch as is commonly used in transmission line work.

Inasmuch as the connecters are usually exposed to the weather, it ishighly important that they be made of non-corrosive materials. To thisend the bracket, the socket member and the clamping disk are preferablymade of manganese bronze; while the screw 17 is preferably made of Monelmetal because this metal has adequate strength and will not corrode. Thespring member 27 may be made of any noncorrosive spring material.However, it has been found that phosphor ronze is well adapted for thispurpose. I

a From the foregoing description, it will be seen that a connecter maybe very quickly and easily applied to a conductor and that the operatorcan controlits application. The screw 1'7 fits its threaded openingsufficiently snugly to prevent the bracket member from swinging aroundloosely on it. Before the connecter is applied the clamping disk isopened sufiiciently to permit the conductor to be slipped in between thelip 16 and the top of the disk. As soon as the conductor engages in thegroove 13, the screw is rotated by the socket wrench firmly to clamp theconductor between the machined face of the disk 18 and the bottom of thegroove. When the 3 connection is'being made, the branch conductor 12,will, of course, be bent so that the operator will not be in any dangerof coming in contact with it. After the connecter is thus clamped andplaced on the conductor, the operator can easily jerk off the socketwrench by pulling on the handle and disengaging the snap fastener.

It has been found in practice that the improved connecters afiord muchbetter contact with conductors than the ordinary spring clamps becausethe disk rubs and slightly abrades the surface of the conductor andcleans it as the clamping screw is being turned to tighten it.Furthermore, they can be manipulated by an unskilled linemanwithout anydanger. Further, the operator loses no time in engaging the manipulatingmember. Moreover, they can be clamped on a conductor in any angularposition with respect to the conductor.

Obviously, the present invention is not restricted to the particularembodiment thereof herein shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. A connecter of the class described comprising, in combination, abracket member hav-.

.ingan arm presenting a grooved under-face to receive a conductor, lipon the bracket adjacent to the groove; a screw threaded through thegrooved face of the bracket member; and a clamping disk rigidly securedto the screw and adapted to clamp the conductor between its upper faceand the bottom of the groove.

2. A connecter of the class described, comprising, in combination, abracket member adapted to 'be hooked over a conductor, a screw clampingmember associated with the bracket member; a non-circularhead on thescrewclamping member; a grooved shank extending beyond the head; asocket wrench engageable with the head and adapted to he slipped overthe shank; a pin extending through the socket and engageable with thegroove in the shank; and an insulating handle for operating the wrench.

3. A connecter for, charged conductors comprising, in combination, abracket member having a conductor engaging portion; a screw carrying aclamping member connected to the bracket-and cooperating with theconductor engaging portion to grip the conductor; an extension on theclamping member having a head to be engaged by an insulated manipulatingimplement; and said extension having a peripheral groove constituting asnap fastener element to be engaged by the manipulating implement andthereby hold the manipulating implement in operative engagement with thehead.

4. A connecter of the class described comprising, in combination, abracket member having aconductor-clamping member adapted to engage aconductor, said clamping member having a groove in its face to receivethe conductor; a screw threaded through said bracket having anintegral-disk engageable with the conductor and cooperating with saidbracket to clamp the conductor in said groove; a non-circular operatinghead on the screw adjacent to said disk; and a snap fastener elementcarried by the screw clamping member whereby to hold an operating memberin operative engagement with said noncircular head.

TOMLINSON FORT JOHNSON.

